Maastricht is located in the south-east of the Netherlands, in a region squeezed between the borders of Germany and Belgium. It is known primarily as a place to sign the treaty, thanks to which the European Union was created. However, Maastricht is much more than a cross-border city, it is a long history, the medieval and Renaissance Old Town and a friendly atmosphere that is felt best in numerous pubs on the Meuse.
Maastricht is considered by many scientists to be the oldest city in the Netherlands. Disputes about priority with Nijmegen are ongoing here, but it is certainly the longest-settled place in the country, and its origins date back to Roman times. In the Middle Ages, the city located on the Meuse was an important trade center. Fragments of the city's fortifications and the oldest city gate in the Netherlands, known as the Infernal Gate, have survived to this day. The Old Town is filled with picturesque houses from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as Gothic churches. Many of them no longer fulfill their role, but have been rebuilt into hotels, café arcades or shops. The most famous of them is the Boekhandel Donimicanen bookshop located on three floors of the former Dominican church.
On both sides of the Meuse there are picturesque boulevards from which narrow streets connecting with squares extend deep into the buildings. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants, as well as the well-known Bisshopsmolen bakery, which has been operating continuously since the Middle Ages. Its attraction is its own water mill from the 17th century, which still had flour for baking, among which are the tarts called limburgse vlaai.
